SELECTED PHOTOGRAPHS07 SERIES / 22 PHOTOGRAPHS

Zexphyr

Photographs of landscapes, light and everyday life.

Kawah Ijen

03 PHOTOGRAPHS

At Ijen, I photographed the sulfur miners as well as the sunrise. A miner carrying his load up the mountain path, and an older man smiling and singing beside his baskets—these are moments I carry with me from the journey.

Twisting bare branches at Ijen frame sunlit ridges and a turquoise crater lake partly hidden by mist. — Branches at Sunrise01 / 03

A sulfur miner in a green top climbs a rocky path at Ijen, carrying two baskets of yellow sulfur, with mist over the lake behind him. — Carrying Sulfur Uphill02 / 03

A sulfur miner at Ijen sits among gray rocks, smiling and raising a hand toward the camera beside baskets of yellow sulfur. — The Miner’s Song03 / 03

Merapi

07 PHOTOGRAPHS

We spent four days photographing Merapi, hoping to capture an eruption. Reaching the shooting location meant a long off-road journey over difficult terrain. Lava and star trails at night, ridges and ravines in morning light—these photographs came from those four days.

A flashlight beam cuts through the darkness, placing a human figure before the volcano. — Before Merapi01 / 07

Ravines lead toward the summit beneath a pale pink and violet sky. — Folded Earth02 / 07

Smoke rises from the summit, its silhouette framed by a warm sky. — Smoke at the Summit03 / 07

Star trails cross the night sky above bright traces of red lava on the mountainside. — Star Trails and Lava04 / 07

Ridges and ravines stretch across the panorama, carrying the eye over the terrain. — An Unfolding Ridge05 / 07

Curving roads cross the grey terrain beneath a mountain washed in warm light. — Roads Toward the Mountain06 / 07

Morning light catches the smoke above the summit, with winding roads spread across the foothills. — Merapi in Morning Light07 / 07

Barefoot Football Boys

04 PHOTOGRAPHS

On Sumba, I photographed local children playing football barefoot, without specialist equipment. A ball and a group of friends brought the evening to life. The setting sun caught the dust stirred by their feet and the smile of a child running toward my camera.

Two children on Sumba contest a football barefoot, backlit by the setting sun. — A Barefoot Duel01 / 04

Three children on Sumba play football barefoot; the child in the middle raises a foot over the ball, with the setting sun behind them. — Following the Ball02 / 04

A barefoot child on Sumba smiles while running toward a football close to the camera, across grass lit by the setting sun. — A Smile in the Evening Light03 / 04

Children stand across a grassy football field on Sumba at sunset, with airborne dust glowing in the golden light. — The Field at Dusk04 / 04

The Dancing Tree

03 PHOTOGRAPHS

I came to Walakiri Beach on Sumba, Indonesia, to photograph the “dancing trees” at sunrise. As the sun rose, a local fisherman was busy beside his boat. My attention shifted from the tree to him, and I photographed an encounter I had not planned.

A tree with curved, spreading branches stands in shallow seawater, with a wooden hut behind it and morning light reflected on the surface. — The Tree I Came to Photograph01 / 03

An Indonesian fisherman wearing a cap handles a rope beside his boat, with sunrise lighting the sea behind him. — An Encounter Beyond the Tree02 / 03

At sunrise, an Indonesian fisherman stands in shallow water and leans over his boat, with morning light on the sea and clouds. — His Morning03 / 03

People Along the Way

03 PHOTOGRAPHS

The closing pages of my photographs of everyday life in Indonesia belong to the people I met along the way: a child lifted into the air, a smile toward the camera in a field, and figures standing close together in the back of a vehicle. Brief encounters, held in photographs.

A smiling man lifts a little girl in a red dress; beside him, a woman smiles while holding a phone and another child reaches upward. — Joy Lifted High01 / 03

A child in red holds a bundle of grass and smiles toward the camera, with an adult dressed in black behind him. — A Glance in the Field02 / 03

A group of people in patterned clothing stand in the open back of a vehicle, facing away from the camera and holding the rear rail. — Together on the Road03 / 03

A Town Beneath Mount Sumbing

01 PHOTOGRAPHS

Roofs climb the hillside as golden light falls across the town, its fields and the volcano beyond.

Tumpak Sewu Waterfall

01 PHOTOGRAPHS

Mist hangs above the falls as water descends along green cliffs into the gorge, with a volcano beneath a pink and violet sky beyond.

08 / Profile

Zhixian Cai

A Walk in the Mountains01 / 03

FROM: Shanghai, China
BORN: 2006
FOCUS: Landscape / Documentary / Travel

I am from Shanghai, China, and was born in 2006. I began taking photographs with a phone in middle school. Travel gradually drew my attention from landscapes to people and everyday life. The scale of a place, changing light and small details continue to shape what I photograph.

On a trip to Yunnan, I shared photographs with villagers whose language I could not speak. That encounter brought me closer to their daily lives and showed me that photography could be a way to understand others. Later, I worked with friends to photograph classmates and create a photo wall. I continue to record landscapes, work and the encounters along the way.

Beyond the Frame

In the mountains, on the road, and wherever the light lingers.

Blue Hour02 / 03

Into the Light03 / 03

09 / Contact

Contact

For photographic conversations, collaborations and image inquiries.

czxdlygyx@qq.com

SOCIAL